Bozeman Montana Real Estate Information Archive

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Even though we still have had our share of dreamy September days with blue bird skies and perfect 55 – 60 degree nights, the mountains are starting to get a nice coating of ‘ceiling white’. We are seeing snow in the Spanish Peaks to the South and of course, Lone Mountain – the main ski mountain at the Big Sky & Moonlight Basin Resorts along with the saddle in the Bridgers.

The juxtaposition of 70 degree temperatures in the Valley with snow on the mountains is what makes Bozeman, well... Bozeman.

We thought you might also enjoy the Big Sky Resort Tram Cam in Big Sky from the top of Lone Mountain– see this link:

Statistically, there have been more sales single family homes in Bozeman in 2016 as compared to 2015. This would include every price range up to $700,000. Also to note, the list price to sales price ratio is higher across the board, exceeding 98% in all price ranges under $700,000.

It seems it wasn’t that long ago when distressed properties (bank owned and short sales) made up a significant percentage of the market and there was ‘value’ everywhere. I put value in quotes as no one really knew how to evaluate value other than to define it as properties that were significantly off their peak value. I had one particularly wise investor that was purchasing very simple, straightforward investments (condos and townhomes priced under $80,000.00) with the goal of a 10 – 12% return on a cash investment. He already owned many multi-families but he saw value and also ease of resale in purchasing individual units – he has doubled his investment in most cases.

So much has changed since then. Without sounding like a glorified cheerleader, here are some quick stats & interesting facts about Bozeman and the surrounding areas, including Big Sky, Gallatin Gateway, Manhattan, Belgrade, and Livingston.

Our local university, Montana State University….

Had yet another year of record enrollment. This year enrollment climbed above 16,000 students. This is the tenth time in the last eleven years that MSU has set an enrollment record. This makes MSU Montana’s largest university.

Montana State is among the top 3% of colleges and universities in the nation for research expenditures and typically exceeds $100 Million per year – are you kidding me? This makes MSU the largest research and development entity of any kind in the state.

Tech companies are booming in Bozeman

A few years ago, in 2011, a boot strapped tech company named Right Now Technologies was purchased by Oracle for $1.5 billion

According to Oracle’s founder, Greg Gianforte, in a recent speech he gave, Bozeman is now home to 82 tech companies

We are seeing tech companies come here for a myriad of reasons – quality of life, affordable housing as compared to Silicon Valley and other hot beds of tech, a talented work force and more.

Montana ranked first in start-ups in the entire US for the fourth straight year

The Bozeman Yellowstone International airport is the busiest in the state – 2015 saw over 1,000,000 passengers – a record for the state and the first time this many passengers were accommodated ever

Yellowstone Park is just down the road – an absolute jewel in the US

The Big Sky ski area also saw record guests at 440,000 visits in 2015 – Big Sky also announced a 10-year plan to invest $150,000,000.00 in improvements to the mountain to accommodate over 650,000 annual visits projected by the year 2025.

Bozeman population grew at 4.5% from 2014 to 2015 – standing at 43,400 residents according to the US Census Bureau

I am only scratching the surface – more to come in future letters. There is no better time to join us in Bozeman and the Gallatin Valley!

The City of Bozeman and the Gallatin County have prepared an updated floodplain map for the greater Bozeman area. The current map was produced almost 30 years ago, so county and city planners want to remap flood areas surrounding Bozeman Creek and the West Gallatin River. County planners want to make sure that all homes in the area are properly prepared for a potential flood and would have the proper insurance in place.

As many riverside residents might be able to tell you, many homes along Bozeman Creek require flood insurance. The new draft will add about 140 additional buildings to the floodplain while removing 108 other buildings. Homes that have been added to the floodplain could see additional costs like flood insurance get added to their bills. Having a home in the floodplain could also affect the property’s value. Currently, the new floodplain map is only a draft. Officials want to have it finalized in the next 2 years.

Safety is always the paramount goal when City Officials look to update or renovate real estate regulations. Updating Bozeman’s floodplain map will help validate that all Bozemanites are living in safe homes and that no one is risking house and home for a closer river lot.

Ideally, the commission would like to expand Cottonwood to four lanes and widen Durston to three lanes. The plan would also add a new light on the intersection of Cottonwood and Babcock. The commission would install roundabouts at Oak and Baxter, and Flanders Mill and Ferguson.

The final plat of Valley West Subdivision’s final phase was approved on October 5th, allowing development to begin on Bozeman’s west side. The Lakes at Valley West, as the final phase is called, has been under formal review for the past year. Now with approval, it will bring approximately 60 homes and 2 lakes to the already thriving subdivision.

Valley West has been one of the fastest growing and most active subdivisions in Bozeman. The final phase will help provide amenities to the current neighborhood while also increasing home inventory in the Bozeman area.

With initial plans being submitted to the City Planning office for a new YMCA community center, it appears the project only needs to secure funding in order to move forward with plans.

The building, designed to be 20,000 square feet, will be approximately a 6 million dollar project, slightly up from March projections of 5.5 Million dollars. In March, the Gallatin Valley YMCA had raised 2.5 million for the project. Now, they have secured $300,000 in additional donations and are 1.2 million short of the 4 million needed to move forward on the project. The 4 million dollars would be used to secure construction financing while also being used to seek grant support from other foundations.

Bozeman continues to put in the necessary infrastructure as it expands to the west. West end Bozeman residents will be happy to hear that these sort of projects are in the pipeline and will help them keep their travel distances to a minimum in Bozeman.

At the end of September, Bozeman and County Commissioners agreed to hire an architect to design the new law and justice center for the local area. The effort would be a shared joint effort between county and city governments, necessitated from the overall costs of such a project. Hiring an architect shows each government’s resolve to get the project approved and underway in Bozeman.

Both commissions approved unanimously to hire ThinkOne architects to submit building designs by the end of June 2016. Hiring an architect is just the first stage however, as the multi-million dollar construction bond that funds the project will be put up for voter approval in November of 2016.

Due to the high level of uncertainty in Bozeman’s construction market, ThinkOne Architects has been asked to submit 30% of the required design documents by the end of June, which will help calculate the building’s cost for the vote next fall.

Currently, Bozeman holds the honor of being Montana’s safest major town. With Bozeman’s recent growth and economic expansion, it will be important to maintain order moving forward. Having the correct infrastructure in place will allow Bozeman to stay on top of any potential crime and keep Bozeman’s reputation safe and flourishing.

The Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport surpassed 1 million total passengers over a 12 month period. From September 2014 to 2015, 1,000,483 passengers either boarded or exited a plane in Bozeman.

The airport saw a 4.4% increase compared to September 2013 to 2014 numbers.

In order to better host their rising totals, the airport has drafted plans to expand the airport in the next 5 to 10 years. The airport would like to add a second paved runway, expand the terminal, add a new parking garage and add a new de-icing area.

The airport and Bozeman both help each other and grow with each other. The airport attracts people, allowing Bozeman to sell itself, but oftentimes these visitors return again or sometimes become permanent residents. Once the airport expands, local residents can expect more tourists and more people looking to stay for an extended time.

Montana awarded 204 scholarships to the state school of each high schooler’s choice. 134 chose Montana State, representing two thirds of those who accepted. 37% of those students will be entering engineering.

In order to qualify, residents must have a 3.4 grade point average. After that, the state ranks them by their school ranking and ACT scores to differentiate the top students.

Having top students continue to choose MSU is great news for the school as well as Bozeman. Attracting the best talent will help MSU grow its own reputation, attracting more students, more jobs and more money to the area. As students graduate, they might also choose to stay in Bozeman, giving boosts to the labor and housing markets respectively.